Womens+stories

=Womens stories=

Narratives used in the pathways pilot
1. MAKING THE BREAK FROM ABUSIVE SITUATIONS OR NOT COPING

I am overwhelmed; there are so many challenges in my life. I can’t cope. I feel helpless, but I need to find the courage to cope. Sometimes getting up in the morning, doing the shopping is an achievement. Some days the pain I feel is just too much and so I have a drink or a smoke to help with the stress and all the hurt. Family troubles and money problems make my life hard. Repeated violence destroys my confidence and my trust in other people. My partner is angry and frustrated. I cannot go on like this. Nor can the children.

1.1 What works

Taking responsibility for my children and myself, getting help and if necessary leaving a violent relationship, even if it means moving away from a place. I need to understand why my family or partner thinks and acts the way they do. I must not believe that I am a bad person or that I deserve to be hurt. They have problems and these are a result of limited opportunities and discrimination. It is also not just their fault. But I have rights and I need to be safe and to have a quiet time and space to think about my needs and the needs of my children. Leaving a violent situation takes courage and knowledge of where to fund help form organisations. I needed at least one person I could rely on and trust. I need to avoid giving up when it gets too hard and returning to an abusive partner or even finding another abusive partner. I have learned from listening to other women.

2. LIFE IN TRANSITION AND REBUILDING

I am determined to improve or rebuild my life, but for now I am just keeping it together. I am worried by lack of money, health problems, homelessness, family and relationship problems. I am making plans to change my life by making use of services, doing some volunteering, getting some training and I have some hope for the future, because I have broadened my networks to include people who can help me and who can help me understand why things are the way they are. I do have a few people I can trust and I can have a better life.

2.1 What works

Using a wide range of services regularly which enables me to keep it together. I build relationships with people beyond my immediate family and make contacts with people who can give me opportunities to volunteer or to train or to help me apply for a job. Networking and building relationships with helpful, positive people helps. I am beginning to learn my rights and to take more responsibility, now that I have more hope for the future. I am living in my own place and this gives me security and time to work on putting my life together.

3. ABLE TO HELP SELF AND OTHERS

I am happy and confident and feel connected to people and place and country. I have a sense of control over my life and I can make choices and decisions. I have many good relationships with people, a home and I job that I find fulfilling. I have the strength to deal with the problems or the knowledge of where to go for help. I can help myself and others, because I have a strong sense of my rights and my responsibilities. I have courage to make connections within my community and in the wider world. I trust myself and enough other people to address personal and public issues.

3.1 What works

Having a job and a home and supportive relationships provides me with security. I have the time and the resources, because I work and budget carefully and I plan ahead. I know my rights and responsibilities and I have skills which I learned on the job or at Tafe or unis. I have a positive outlook on life. I have a full life and I have discarded negative thinking, time wasting and using crutches to solve my problems like gambling or other addictions.